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Forums - Gaming Discussion - [FORBES Contributor] Nintendo Needs To Get Its Amiibo Act Together

sundin13 said:
Cloudman said:
Nintendo and their amiibo handling is utterly ridiculous. Even now, they fail to meet the demand for them, leaving people to have to hunt for the ones they want, making this some sort of `Amiibo Hunt` game. I thought this was a bold new idea Ninten wanted to pursue. It doesn`t seem like they have much faith in it themselves if they are releasing such a small number of them, aside from Mario ones. How are people supposed to use them in games if they become hard to find? I simply don`t get it. Ninten needs to get their act together and make more of these dang things. You don`t go into something half-heartedly. Ugh... And I love these things too... >: (


The game is the point. The low stock isn't a sign of lack of faith, it is a strategy for creating a fanatical culture around amiibo. While the hunt may be frustrating to some fans, to others it is the centerpiece of the excitement. I think that it is hard to deny that the low stock has created a fanatical fanbase around amiibo. I've been praising Steam for years on how it has turned the act of purchasing games into a game of its own right. It is amazing to see that Nintendo has managed to do a similar thing with physical products...

Also, as I stated before, the ones with the most utility in games tend to be the ones that are extremely common, like Mario, Link and Toon Link.

It definitely is making it a game for getting amiibo, which seems sort of good for Nintendo, but infuriating to fans. Sure, it`s great that Ninten is building this base with Amiibo, but I feel it would be better if they at least reached demand for them. It would build a base for fans and net them some more cash. It seems to be hurting them a bit sales wise when fans have to search elsewhere to get the figures they want rather than just buying them from a store. Also, it doesn`t seem good when these can be used in games, but the figures that can be used  are hard to find. That`s half their drive, being abled to be used across multiple games...

How steam has done it is still rather positive for everyone, aside from people spending so much money, but Ninten and amiibo, it seems mostly negative. It`s mostly hurting Nintendo and the fans. : /



 

              

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Cloudman said:

It definitely is making it a game for getting amiibo, which seems sort of good for Nintendo, but infuriating to fans. Sure, it`s great that Ninten is building this base with Amiibo, but I feel it would be better if they at least reached demand for them. It would build a base for fans and net them some more cash. It seems to be hurting them a bit sales wise when fans have to search elsewhere to get the figures they want rather than just buying them from a store. Also, it doesn`t seem good when these can be used in games, but the figures that can be used  are hard to find. That`s half their drive, being abled to be used across multiple games...

How steam has done it is still rather positive for everyone, aside from people spending so much money, but Ninten and amiibo, it seems mostly negative. It`s mostly hurting Nintendo and the fans. : /


The point is that I believe a good deal of this whole phenomenon is due to the low stock. That creates this culture where everybody is scrambling to get them and everybody is talking about them instead of them always becoming "oh, I'll get that eventually".

I do think they could increase their stock a bit, but I also think they want to ride the wave as far as it can go. They don't want people to be done with amiibo once they collect all of the Smash amiibo. They want people to go for the reprints increasing hype when new games come out. They want to be able to release more versions of the same characters so people who didn't get them the first time can go for it the second time.

Their system isn't designed for burst sales, and it isn't designed so everybody can get every amiibo. It is designed so everybody can get a few amiibo and everybody can participate in the game.

Unfortunately scalpers are what make this system weaker, and many retailers have moved to a "one per person" sales distribution to compensate for this, but there isn't really any getting past that hurdle without sacrificing the long term plans.



Amen. I like the concept of Amiibo, and do have some myself. However, when characters that are REQUIRED to unlock content in some of their games are impossible to find...that's a problem.



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sundin13 said:
Cloudman said:

It definitely is making it a game for getting amiibo, which seems sort of good for Nintendo, but infuriating to fans. Sure, it`s great that Ninten is building this base with Amiibo, but I feel it would be better if they at least reached demand for them. It would build a base for fans and net them some more cash. It seems to be hurting them a bit sales wise when fans have to search elsewhere to get the figures they want rather than just buying them from a store. Also, it doesn`t seem good when these can be used in games, but the figures that can be used  are hard to find. That`s half their drive, being abled to be used across multiple games...

How steam has done it is still rather positive for everyone, aside from people spending so much money, but Ninten and amiibo, it seems mostly negative. It`s mostly hurting Nintendo and the fans. : /


The point is that I believe a good deal of this whole phenomenon is due to the low stock. That creates this culture where everybody is scrambling to get them and everybody is talking about them instead of them always becoming "oh, I'll get that eventually".

I do think they could increase their stock a bit, but I also think they want to ride the wave as far as it can go. They don't want people to be done with amiibo once they collect all of the Smash amiibo. They want people to go for the reprints increasing hype when new games come out. They want to be able to release more versions of the same characters so people who didn't get them the first time can go for it the second time.

Their system isn't designed for burst sales, and it isn't designed so everybody can get every amiibo. It is designed so everybody can get a few amiibo and everybody can participate in the game.

Unfortunately scalpers are what make this system weaker, and many retailers have moved to a "one per person" sales distribution to compensate for this, but there isn't really any getting past that hurdle without sacrificing the long term plans.


Hopefully they don`t wait too long to do reprints. Consumers may be too impatient to wait and may take the dive and spent that huge amount for the amiibo they want. And scalpers are definitely messing up the equation for Nintendo and consumers... -_- It is a good idea for them to do this to build interest in amiibo, but still seems somewhat hurtful.



 

              

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Cloudman said:

Hopefully they don`t wait too long to do reprints. Consumers may be too impatient to wait and may take the dive and spent that huge amount for the amiibo they want. And scalpers are definitely messing up the equation for Nintendo and consumers... -_- It is a good idea for them to do this to build interest in amiibo, but still seems somewhat hurtful.


The reprints will likely be targeted. For example, Marth is getting another shipment later this month for use in Codename STEAM. I wouldn't be surprised to see something like a Shulk reprint alongside Xenoblade Chronicles X or a Marth/Ike reprint alongside Fire Emblem: if or FExSMT. Then we have the new versions alongside things like Mario Party which gave us Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi and Bowser. We may also see wave reprints after the entire Smash series is out.



sundin13 said:
Cloudman said:

Hopefully they don`t wait too long to do reprints. Consumers may be too impatient to wait and may take the dive and spent that huge amount for the amiibo they want. And scalpers are definitely messing up the equation for Nintendo and consumers... -_- It is a good idea for them to do this to build interest in amiibo, but still seems somewhat hurtful.


The reprints will likely be targeted. For example, Marth is getting another shipment later this month for use in Codename STEAM. I wouldn't be surprised to see something like a Shulk reprint alongside Xenoblade Chronicles X or a Marth/Ike reprint alongside Fire Emblem: if or FExSMT. Then we have the new versions alongside things like Mario Party which gave us Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi and Bowser. We may also see wave reprints after the entire Smash series is out.

I certainly hope there are reprints for all these amiibo at some point, even in small shipments, and that they aren`t small numbers to cause another shortage again... u_u; That exclusive store business seems like BS too...



 

              

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vkaraujo said:
Pavolink said:
That's why I don't have that things, not even Link. I won't support that practice.

Well, i don't think Nintendo is doing this on purpose, but this situation also turns me off.

I really wanted them, but here in my country importers are charging so much for them, that with 11 of them i can get a PS4. It is just ridiculous

This is perhaps the most obvious intentional suppression of supply to increase demand I've seen in many years. How is it not blatantly obvious?



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